1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling and adjusting heat output during the heating phase of a steam pressure cooking vessel for rapid cooking or vitamin preserving cooking at various temperatures above the evaporation temperature of water, whereby the temperature in and/or at the steam pressure cooking vessel is monitored and employed to adjust the temperature in the steam pressure cooking vessel by means of a control circuit which activates and deactivates an electric heating element as required, to achieve a preset cooking temperature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An apparatus of this type is disclosed in German Patent Publication DE-OS No. 29 32 039. In this known apparatus, a time function element is automatically adjusted as a function of the temperature or the pressure in the steam pressure cooking vessel in order to influence the cooking or boiling process according to conditions in the steam pressure cooking vessel. The purpose of this arrangement is to insure that the duration of the cooking or boiling process is suitably modified under fluctuating conditions in the steam pressure cooking vessel. An arrangement of this type will only be useful if fluctuating conditions occur during the cooking or boiling process, which might result from unsatisfactory adjustment or control of the cooking or boiling temperature.
In another known apparatus according to German Patent Publication DE-OS No. 30 26 620, the heat output of the heating element is controlled by a microprocessor which is provided with signals from a signal transmitter attached to the steam pressure cooking vessel. The advantage of this arrangement resides in the fact that it allows a number of parameters affecting the cooking or boiling process to be manually preset at the same time. However, this arrangement does not provide any means of automatically adjusting control of the cooking or boiling temperature taking into account different heating characteristics.